Improving Inventory Management with Demand Forecasts and Backorders for Shopify Growth: VIBAe’s Journey

About VIBAe

👥 Team Size: 9 | 📍 Helsinki, Finland | 👞 Apparel | 🛍️ Shopify

VIBAe, a global company founded by five friends from Malibu and Finland, is a startup with a mission to create ecological, ergonomic, and comfortable footwear. Inspired by a camper van trip across Finland, VIBAe emphasizes good vibes and values-driven entrepreneurship. With expertise in footwear and entrepreneurship, the team embarked on a journey to redefine standards in the industry.

Challenges

As a startup, VIBAe faced a range of inventory and operational challenges, including:

🔸 Stockouts of Popular Products

Roma slippers, one of VIBAe’s best-selling products, frequently went out of stock, frustrating customers and leading to missed revenue opportunities.

🔸 Demand Uncertainty

‍Predicting customer demand was difficult, especially during seasonal peaks, which led to either overproduction or insufficient stock to meet demand.

🔸 Inefficient Inventory Forecasting

VIBAe struggled to manage inventory levels efficiently without a reliable demand forecasting system, leading to operational bottlenecks.

They started to look for an inventory management solution to overcome these challenges and stop losing revenue.

Solutions

Fabrikatör worked closely with VIBAe to address these challenges through customized solutions:

🔹 Backorder Implementation

‍VIBAe integrated Fabrikatör's backorder feature into their Shopify system. This ensured customers could still place orders even when products like the Roma slippers were temporarily out of stock. This solution enabled VIBAe to capture sales that would have otherwise been lost due to stockouts, improve customer satisfaction by allowing orders to continue during periods of high demand, keep generating revenue awaiting restocks.

🔹 Long-term Demand & Supply Planning

‍Fabrikatör’s demand forecasting gave VIBAe a powerful forecasting tool to accurately predict future demand based on sales history and market trends, create purchase orders directly from forecasts, streamlining their supply chain. Plus, they could plan their inventory needs with flexibility, adapting quickly to changes in demand while minimizing overproduction.

The ability to visualize and edit forecasts enabled VIBAe to hold weekly production meetings where they could map out their next steps, ensuring smooth operations even during periods of rapid growth. 🗓️

What Happened After VIBAe Adopted Fabrikatör?

The collaboration between VIBAe and Fabrikatör resulted in several tangible benefits:

📈 Increased Sales with Backorders

With Fabrikatör’s backorder feature, VIBAe kept selling products that are temporarily unavailable and generated cash flow. This resulted in more consistent revenue and happier customers no longer frustrated by unavailable products.

🔮 Better Forecasting, Smoother Planning

Fabrikatör’s advanced forecasting tools gave VIBAe the ability to predict demand more accurately, particularly for high-demand products like the Roma slippers. This led to fewer stockout, better inventory management, and a more efficient supply chain.

🛒 Optimized Inventory Management

With real-time demand data and automated restocking suggestions, VIBAe was able to maintain optimal inventory levels. This not only reduced the risk of overstocking but also minimized lost sales due to stock shortages.

🕒 Time Savings, More Focus on Growth

By automating manual processes such as purchase order creation and inventory tracking, VIBAe’s team saved valuable time, which they could then devote to growing their business, expanding their product line, and spreading good vibes through their brand mission.